This week’s press and trade tasting of Vouvray wines was held at the WSET school on Bermondsey Street. A much smaller affair than in recent years, with just 11 producers present, one hopes this isn’t a reflection on Vouvray’s popularity in the market. I have long been an advocate of Loire wines. Vouvray, with its ability to produce both sparkling and still wines, and in a range of styles from dry to sweet, is just one appellation to seek out from the vast region that is the Loire Valley. Apart from the diversity of wines, surely the value offered has to be a very attractive feature. Vouvray ..read more

As wine bars go, The Wine Library – a 19th century cellar in Tower Hill – is a good one. Not paying any attention to trends, in either décor or drinking styles, and with no Enomatic wine dispensers in sight, this bar has traditional drinking booths, allowing some privacy and enabling conversation to take place at a comfortable volume. The lighting wouldn’t do for the MW blind tasting exam, but in all other situations, low wattage is to be welcomed. A visit earlier this week - no umbrella necessary - made it feel like a white-wine-sort-of-day. Despite the hundreds of bottles to choose from ..read more

This week’s press and trade tasting of wines of the Rhône, coming as it did so soon after Anna Spooner’s exploration of the region’s lesser-known bottles at 67 Pall Mall, was a second opportunity to try some wines from the Rhône Valley’s hierarchy of offerings. A long-time fan of wines from this region (which is the second largest for wine production in France), I was hoping for some new discoveries and to expand my enthusiasm beyond the cru level wines, particularly those from the Northern Rhône. With more length than breadth, the Rhône gives us a wide variety of wines and styles from its my ..read more

On my way to Burgundy later this week, I shall be passing through Paris on what marks another special day in the wine calendar: La Fête du Beaujolais Nouveau. It's as though November has grabbed all the wine festivities for itself. Never one to miss a party, I shall be on French soil for both. Beaune Bizi ..read more

The Louis Latour Agencies tasting, which was held last week at Haberdashers’ Hall, didn’t disappoint, with its 2022 releases, Champagnes, wines and spirits. With the emphasis naturally on burgundy the event also had representatives from outside the region, as well as Western Australia, New Zealand, Italy and Chile. The approach to tackling tastings like this one is to try examples representative of the region/country, and at different levels of hierarchy. Some thoughts from the day: Champagne Gosset Grand Blancs de Blanc Brut NV. The only Champagne in the range I tasted, it delivered delicate ..read more

Throwaway comments about a wine being ‘good’ are made all the time, by experienced and inexperienced wine drinkers alike. But would it be more meaningful to instead state whether a wine is to one’s liking, rather than make a proclamation as to its quality? Would a drinker ever be justified in saying, “who cares if you like it, this is a good wine, regardless”?   Exploring the role and importance of subjectivity and objectivity is important. In the international wine trade, descriptions are used to make the wine appeal to the potential purchaser. The role of critics, wine writers, retaile ..read more

It would seem a curiously protestant thing to do, when everything is grey and the days still short, to pile on more misery, but increasingly people here and in several other countries are opting to eschew alcohol consumption in January, the dreariest of months. Taking its origins from the UK, the French have caught on to the idea in recent years, too, even though President Macron’s government has failed to lend its support to the défi de janvier campaign. This is presumably due to a decline in alcohol consumption among its people. There are economics to consider. The private members’ club, 67 ..read more

The third week in November each year sees two famous wine festivals taking place in France: the Fete du Beaujolais Nouveau (the third Thursday of the month) and the Vente des Vins des Hospices de Beaune (the third Sunday of the month). Both of these annual events are a celebration of grapes harvested just a few weeks earlier. But apart from that, there is little point of comparison for these two events, the former being a fun, light-hearted celebration of the year's first wine bottlings to be released onto the market, and the latter a prestigious occasion in the wine world, where wines from fa ..read more

There can be no doubt, wine drinking for many is a highly enjoyable pastime. But choosing a bottle from an extensive restaurant wine list? Is it part of that enjoyable process, or does it have the potential to induce stress or even embarrassment? As a seasoned, and fairly knowledgeable, wine drinker, it is all part of the pleasure of understanding and appreciating wine. However, yesterday, when faced with an extensive tea menu, I was forced to see things from another angle: the realisation that making a sophisticated tea choice with confidence was a daunting prospect. The burden felt huge. I ..read more

I first wrote about Hungary’s national grape variety – Furmint – in 2020, which makes me feel like an early adopter of the grape. While I have long been a fan of this variety, in all its iterations, it seems that everyone is now talking about Furmint February. I find these so-called national days and themed months irksome, but in the wine trade they do serve to raise awareness of lesser-known grape varieties, which has to be a good thing in broadening people’s knowledge and, therefore, choices. London played host this week to its annual “Furmint February” trade and press tasting, organised by ..read more